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Non-Muslims from different backgrounds quotes

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    Non-Muslims from different backgrounds quotes

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    I will here list all the quotes provided by Non-Muslims from various backgrounds and what they have to say about Islam and/or Muslims. These quotes are for Muslims and Non-Muslims alike. Insha'Allah, it will reveal that Islaam is not despised by the non-muslim academic scholars at all.

    Some you might have read and some are completely new. So please post quotes that are not widely circulated much on the internet. Insha'Allah, I will add it on the main sites.


    Quotations regarding Islam in general:


    “The teachings of Islam can fail under no circumstances. With all our systems of culture and civilization, we can not go beyond Islam and, as a matter of fact, no human mind can go beyond the Q’uran.
    Author :
    Johann Goethe
    Book Reference :
    cited in Sir Henry Elliot’s Letters of Johann Goethe, 1865

    “In my view, Islam is the only religion in the world that will remain eternally practicable in changing times."
    Author :
    George Bernard Shaw
    Book Reference :
    The Genuine Islam, 1936

    “Islam does not set impossible goals. There are no mythological intricacies in this message. No hidden meanings or secrets and absolutely no priesthood.”
    Author :
    Hitti, History of the Arabs

    The essential and definite element of my conversion to Islam was the Qur'an. I began to study it before my conversion with the critical spirit of a Western intellectual. There are certain verses of this book, the Qur'an, revealed more than thirteen centuries ago, which teach exactly the same notions as the most modern scientific researches do. This definitely converted me.
    Author :
    Ali Selman Benoist, France, Doctor of Medicine

    "I have read the Sacred Scriptures of every religion; nowhere have I found what I encountered in Islam: perfection. The Holy Qur'an, compared to any other scripture I have read, is like the Sun compared to that of a match. I firmly believe that anybody who reads the Word of Allah with a mind that is not completely closed to Truth, will become a Muslim."
    Author :
    (Saifuddin) Dirk Walter Mosig, U.S.A.

    But Islam has a still further service to render to the cause of humanity. It stands after all nearer to the real East than Europe does, and it possesses a magnificent tradition of inter-racial understanding and cooperation. No other society has such a record of success uniting in an equality of status, of opportunity, and of endeavours so many and so various races of mankind . . . Islam has still the power to reconcile apparently irreconcilable elements of race and tradition. If ever the opposition of the great societies of East and West is to be replaced by cooperation, the mediation of Islam is an indispensable condition. In its hands lies very largely the solution of the problem with which Europe is faced in its relation with East. If they unite, the hope of a peaceful issue is immeasurably enhanced. But if Europe, by rejecting the cooperation of Islam, throws it into the arms of its rivals, the issue can only be disastrous for both.
    Author :
    H.A.R. Gibb
    Book Reference :
    WHITHER ISLAM, London, 1932, p. 379

    It (Islam) replaced monkishness by manliness. It gives hope to the slave, brotherhood to mankind, and recognition of the fundamental facts of human nature.
    How, for instance, can any other appeal stand against that of the Moslem who, in approaching the pagan, says to him, however obscure or degraded he may be 'Embrace the faith, and you are at once equal and a brother.' Islam knows no color line.
    Author :

    S. S. Leeder, VEILED MYSTERIES OF EGYPT

    Sense of justice is one of the most wonderful ideals of Islam, because as I read in the Qur'an I find those dynamic principles of life, not mystic but practical ethics for the daily conduct of life suited to the whole world.
    Author :

    SAROJINI NAIDU
    Book Reference :
    Lectures on "The Ideals of Islam:"SPEECHES AND WRITINGS OF SAROJINI NAIDU, Madras, 1918, p. 167

    The extinction of race consciousness as between Muslims is one of the outstanding achievements of Islam, and in the contemporary world there is, as it happens, a crying need for the propagation of this Islamic virtue.
    Author :
    A. J. Toynbee
    Book Reference :

    CIVILIZATION ON TRIAL, New York, 1948, p. 205

    I am not a Muslim in the usual sense, though I hope I am a Muslim" as "one surrendered to God," but I believe that embedded in the Quran and other expressions of the Islamic vision are vast stores of divine truth from which I and other occidentals have still much to learn, and 'Islam is certainly a strong contender for the supplying of the basic framework of the one religion of the future.'"
    Author :
    W. Montgomery Watt
    Book Reference :
    ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY TODAY, London, 1983, p.ix


    'I believe in One God and Mohammed the Apostle of God,' is the simple and invariable profession of Islam. The intellectual image of the Deity has never been degraded by any visible idol; the honours of the prophet have never transgressed the measure of human virtue, and his living precepts have restrained the gratitude of his disciples within the bounds of reason and religion.
    Author :
    Edward Gibbon and Simon Ocklay
    Book Reference :
    HISTORY OF THE SARACEN EMPIRE, London, 1870, p. 54


    "Islam is a religion that is essentially rationalistic in the widest sense of this term considered etymologically and historically....the teachings of the Prophet, the Qur'an has invariably kept its place as the fundamental starting point, and the dogma of unity of God has always been proclaimed therein with a grandeur a majesty, an invariable purity and with a note of sure conviction, which it is hard to find surpassed outside the pale of Islam....A creed so precise, so stripped of all theological complexities and consequently so accessible to the ordinary understanding might be expected to possess and does indeed possess a marvelous power of winning its way into the consciences of men."
    Author :
    Edward Montet
    Book Reference :
    'La Propagande Chretienne et ses Adversaries Musulmans,' Paris 1890. (Also in T.W. Arnold in 'The Preaching of Islam,' London 1913.)

    On the basis of a Book, every letter which has become law, he created a spiritual nationality which blend together peoples of every tongue and race. He has left the indelible characteristic of this Muslim nationality the hatred of false gods and the passion for the One and Immaterial God. This avenging patriotism against the profanation of Heaven formed the virtue of the followers of Muhammad; the conquest of one-third the earth to the dogma was his miracle; or rather it was not the miracle of man but that of reason.
    Author :
    Alphonse de LaMartaine
    Book Reference :
    'Historie de la Turquie,' Paris, 1854

    I hope the time is not far off when I shall be able to unite all the wise and educated men of all the countries and establish a uniform regime based on the principles of Qur'an which alone are true and which alone can lead men to happiness.
    Author :
    Napolean Bonaparte
    Book Reference :
    Quoted in Christian Cherfils, ‘Bonaparte et Islam,’ Pedone Ed., Paris, France, 1914, pp. 105, 125.

    The Islamic teachings have left great traditions for equitable and gentle dealings and behavior, and inspire people with nobility and tolerance. These are human teachings of the highest order and at the same time practicable. These teachings brought into existence a society in which hard-heartedness and collective oppression and injustice were the least as compared with all other societies preceding it....Islam is replete with gentleness, courtesy, and fraternity.
    Author :
    H.G. Wells

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    Re: Non-Muslims from different backgrounds quotes

    Quotations regarding the best of creation; Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him):

    “The greatest crimes, the greatest “sin” of Mohammed in the eyes of Christian West is that he did not allow himself to be slaughtered, to be “crucified” by his enemies. He only defended himself, his family and his followers; and finally vanquished his enemies. Mohammed’s success is the Christians’ gall of disappointment… He did not believe in any vicarious sacrifices for the sins of others.”
    Author :
    Edward Gibbon
    Book Reference :
    Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

    “The lies which we [Christians] have heaped round this man (Mohammed), are disgraceful to ourselves only.”
    Author :
    Thomas Carlyle
    Book Reference :
    Heroes and Hero Worship

    “Muhammed was the most successful of all religious personalities.”
    Author :
    Encyclopedia Britannica, 4th & 11th editions

    “Among leaders who have made the greatest impact through the ages, I would consider Muhammed before Jesus Christ”
    Author :
    James Gavin, Speeches by a U.S. Army General

    "Mohammed never assigned himself a status more than a common man and a messenger of God. People had faith in him when he was surrounded by poverty and adversity and trusted him while he was the ruler of a great Empire. A man of spotless character who always had a confidence in himself and in God’s help. No aspect of his life remained hidden nor was his death a mysterious event."
    Author :
    M.H. Hyndman
    Book Reference :
    The Awakening of Asia

    “Mohammed brought an end to idol worship. He preached monotheism and infinite Mercy of God, human brotherhood, care of orphan, emancipation of slaves, forbidding of wine - No religion achieved as much success as Islam did."
    Author :
    Sir William Muir
    Book Reference :
    Life of Mohammed

    “I believe that if today an autocrat of Mohammed’s caliber assumes world leadership, he could solve all problems of humanity splendidly. The world will become an abode of peace and happiness. I predict that tomorrow’s Europe will embrace Islam."
    Author :
    George Bernard Shaw

    “The sayings of Muhammed are a treasure of wisdom not only for Muslims but for all of mankind.”
    Author :
    M. Gandhi
    Book Reference :
    Preface to The Sayings of Muhammed by Sohrawardi

    The founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire, that is Muhammed. As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than he?
    Author :
    Lamartine
    Book Reference :
    Historie de la Turquie, Paris 1854, Vol. 11 pp. 276-277

    In little more than a year he was actually the spiritual, nominal and temporal rule of Medina, with his hands on the lever that was to shake the world.
    Author :
    John Austin
    Book Reference :
    MUHAMMAD THE PROPHET OF ALLAH in T.P.'s and Cassel's Weekly for 24th September 1927

    Four years after the death of Justinian, A.D. 569, was born at Mecca, in Arabia the man who, of all men exercised the greatest influence upon the human race... Mohammed
    Author :
    John William Draper, M.D., L.L.D.
    Book Reference :
    A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, London 1875, Vol.1, pp.329-330

    He was the most faithful protector of those he protected, the sweetest and most agreeable in conversation. Those who saw him were suddenly filled with reverence; those who came near him loved him; they who described him would say, "I have never seen his like either before or after." He was of great taciturnity, but when he spoke it was with emphasis and deliberation, and no one could forget what he said...
    Author :
    Lane-Poole
    Book Reference :
    in 'Speeches and Table Talk of the Prophet Muhammad'


    His military triumphs awakened no pride nor vain glory as they would have done had they been effected by selfish purposes. In the time of his greatest power he maintained the same simplicity of manner and appearance as in the days of his adversity. So far from affecting regal state, he was displeased if, on entering a room, any unusual testimonial of respect was shown to him.
    Author :
    Washington Irving
    Book Reference :
    'Life of Muhammad,' New York, 1920


    “Like almost every major prophet before him, Muhammad fought shy of serving as the transmitter of God’s word sensing his own inadequacy. But the Angel commanded ‘Read’ So far as we know, Muhammad was unable to read or write, but he began to dictate those inspired words which would soon revolutionize a large segment of the earth: "There is one God"." “In all things Muhammad was profoundly practical. When his beloved son Ibrahim died, an eclipse occurred and rumors of God 's personal condolence quickly arose. Whereupon Muhammad is said to have announced, ‘An eclipse is a phenomenon of nature. It is foolish to attribute such things to the death or birth of a human being'." “At Muhammad's own death an attempt was made to deify him, but the man who was to become his administrative successor killed the hysteria with one of the noblest speeches in religious history: ‘If there are any among you who worshiped Muhammad, he is dead. But if it is God you Worshiped, He lives for ever'.”
    Author :
    James Michener
    Book Reference :
    ‘Islam: The Misunderstood Religion,’ Reader’s Digest, May 1955, pp. 68-70

    A silent great soul, one of that who cannot but be earnest. He was to kindle the world, the world’s Maker had ordered so.
    Author :
    Thomas Carlyle
    Book Reference :

    'Heroes and Hero Worship and the Heroic in History,' 1840

    The good sense of Muhammad despised the pomp of royalty. The Apostle of God submitted to the menial offices of the family; he kindled the fire; swept the floor; milked the ewes; and mended with his own hands his shoes and garments. Disdaining the penance and merit of a hermit, he observed without effort of vanity the abstemious diet of an Arab.
    Author :
    Gibbon
    Book Reference :
    in 'The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' 1823

    The greatest success of Mohammad’s life was effected by sheer moral force.
    Author :
    Edward Gibbon and Simon Oakley
    Book Reference :
    ‘History of the Saracen Empire,’ London, 187

    It is not the propagation but the permanency of his religion that deserves our wonder, the same pure and perfect impression which he engraved at Mecca and Medina is preserved after the revolutions of twelve centuries by the Indian, the African and the Turkish proselytes of the Koran....The Mahometans have uniformly withstood the temptation of reducing the object of their faith and devotion to a level with the senses and imagination of man. ‘I believe in One God and Mahomet the Apostle of God’ is the simple and invariable profession of Islam. The intellectual image of the Deity has never been degraded by any visible idol; the honors of the prophet have never transgressed the measure of human virtue, and his living precepts have restrained the gratitude of his disciples within the bounds of reason and religion.”
    Author :
    Edward Gibbon and Simon Oakley
    Book Reference :
    ‘History of the Saracen Empire,’ London, 1870

    It is impossible for anyone who studies the life and character of the great Prophet of Arabia, who knew how he taught and how he lived, to feel anything but reverence for that mighty Prophet, one of the great messengers of the Supreme. And although in what I put to you I shall say many things which may be familiar to many, yet I myself feel, whenever I reread them, a new way of admiration, a new sense of reverence for that mighty Arabian teacher.
    Author :
    Annie Besant
    Book Reference :
    'The Life and Teachings of Mohammad,' Madras, 1932

    So great was his liberality to the poor that he often left his household unprovided, nor did he content himself with relieving their wants, he entered into conversation with them, and expressed a warm sympathy for their sufferings. He was a firm friend and a faithful ally.
    Author :
    W.C. Taylor
    Book Reference :
    'The History of Muhammadanism and its Sects'

    Head of the State as well as the Church, he was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pope without the Pope's pretensions, and Caesar without the legions of Caesar, without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a police force, without a fixed revenue. If ever a man ruled by a right divine, it was Muhammad, for he had all the powers without their supports. He cared not for the dressings of power. The simplicity of his private life was in keeping with his public life.
    Author :
    Reverend Bosworth Smith
    Book Reference :
    'Muhammad and Muhammadanism,' London, 1874

    In Mohammadanism every thing is different here. Instead of the shadowy and the mysterious, we have history....We know of the external history of Muhammad....while for his internal history after his mission had been proclaimed, we have a book absolutely unique in its origin, in its preservation....on the Substantial authority of which no one has ever been able to cast a serious doubt.
    Author :
    Reverend Bosworth Smith
    Book Reference :
    'Muhammad and Muhammadanism,' London, 1874

    Muhammad was a shining example to his people. His character was pure and stainless. His house, his dress, his food - they were characterized by a rare simplicity. So unpretentious was he that he would receive from his companions no special mark of reverence, nor would he accept any service from his slave which he could do for himself. He was accessible to all and at all times. He visited the sick and was full of sympathy for all. Unlimited was his benevolence and generosity as also was his anxious care for the welfare of the community.

    Author :
    Dr. Gustav Weil
    Book Reference :
    in 'History of the Islamic Peoples'

    Never has a man set for himself, voluntarily or involuntarily, a more sublime aim, since this aim was superhuman; to subvert superstitions which had been imposed between man and his Creator, to render God unto man and man unto God; to restore the rational and sacred idea of divinity amidst the chaos of the material and disfigured gods of idolatry, then existing. Never has a man undertaken a work so far beyond human power with so feeble means, for he (Muhammad) had in the conception as well as in the execution of such a great design, no other instrument than himself and no other aid except a handful of men living in a corner of the desert. Finally, never has a man accomplished such a huge and lasting revolution in the world, because in less than two centuries after its appearance, Islam, in faith and in arms, reigned over the whole of Arabia, and conquered, in God's name, Persia Khorasan, Transoxania, Western India, Syria, Egypt, Abyssinia, all the known continent of Northern Africa, numerous islands of the Mediterranean Sea, Spain, and part of Gaul.
    Author :
    Alphonse de LaMartaine
    Book Reference :
    'Historie de la Turquie,' Paris, 1854

    If greatness of purpose, smallness of means, and astonishing results are the three criteria of a human genius, who could dare compare any great man in history with Muhammad? The most famous men created arms, laws, and empires only. They founded, if anything at all, no more than material powers which often crumbled away before their eyes. This man moved not only armies, legislations, empires, peoples, dynasties, but millions of men in one-third of the then inhabited world; and more than that, he moved the altars, the gods, the religions, the ideas, the beliefs and the souls.

    Author :
    Alphonse de LaMartaine
    Book Reference :
    'Historie de la Turquie,' Paris, 1854

    The idea of the unity of God, proclaimed amidst the exhaustion of the fabulous theogonies, was in itself such a miracle that upon it's utterance from his lips it destroyed all the ancient temples of idols and set on fire one-third of the world. His life, his meditations, his heroic revelings against the superstitions of his country, and his boldness in defying the furies of idolatry, his firmness in enduring them for fifteen years in Mecca, his acceptance of the role of public scorn and almost of being a victim of his fellow countrymen: all these and finally, his flight his incessant preaching, his wars against odds, his faith in his success and his superhuman security in misfortune, his forbearance in victory, his ambition, which was entirely devoted to one idea and in no manner striving for an empire; his endless prayers, his mystic conversations with God, his death and his triumph after death; all these attest not to an imposture but to a firm conviction which gave him the power to restore a dogma. This dogma was twofold the unity of God and the immateriality of God: the former telling what God is, the latter telling what God is not; the one overthrowing false gods with the sword, the other starting an idea with words.
    Author :
    Alphonse de LaMartaine
    Book Reference :
    'Historie de la Turquie,' Paris, 1854

    Deeply read in the volume of nature, though extremely ignorant of letters, his mind could expand into controversy with the wisest of his enemies or contract itself to the apprehension of meanest of his disciples. His simple eloquence was rendered impressive by a manner of mixed dignity and elegance, by the expression of a countenance where the awfulness of his majesty was so well tempered by an amiable sweetness, that it exerted emotions of veneration and love. He was gifted with that authoritative air or genius which alike influences the learned and commands the illiterate.
    Author :
    Charles Stuart Mills
    Book Reference :
    in 'History of Mohammadanism'

    Within a brief span of mortal life, Muhammad called forth of unpromising material, a nation, never welded before; in a country that was hitherto but a geographical expression he established a religion which in vast areas suppressed Christianity and Judaism, and laid the basis of an empire that was soon to embrace within its far flung boundaries the fairest provinces the then civilized world.
    Author :
    Philip K. Hitti
    Book Reference :
    in 'History of the Arabs'

    He was one of those happy few who have attained the supreme joy of making one great truth their very life spring. He was the messenger of One God, and never to his life's end did he forget who he was or the message which was the marrow of his being. He brought his tidings to his people with a grand dignity sprung from the consciousness of his high office, together with a most sweet humility.
    Author :
    Stanley Lane-Poole
    Book Reference :
    in 'Studies in a Mosque'

    Mohammad's career is a wonderful instance of the force and life that resides in him who possesses an intense faith in God and in the unseen world. He will always be regarded as one of those who have had that influence over the faith, morals and whole earthly life of their fellow men, which none but a really great man ever did, or can exercise; and whose efforts to propagate a great verity will prosper.
    Author :
    Rodwell
    Book Reference :
    in the Preface to his translation of the Holy Qur'an

    His readiness to undergo persecution for his beliefs, the high moral character of the men who believed in him and looked up to him as a leader, and the greatness of his ultimate achievement - all argue his fundamental integrity. To suppose Muhammad an impostor raises more problems that it solves. Moreover, none of the great figures of history is so poorly appreciated in the West as Muhammad.... Thus, not merely must we credit Muhammad with essential honesty and integrity of purpose, if we are to understand him at all; if we are to correct the errors we have inherited from the past, we must not forget the conclusive proof is a much stricter requirement than a show of plausibility, and in a matter such as this only to be attained with difficulty.
    Author :
    W. Montgomery Watt
    Book Reference :
    'Muhammad at Mecca,' Oxford, 1953

    Serious or trivial, his daily behavior has instituted a canon which millions observe this day with conscious memory. No one regarded by any section of the human race as Perfect Man has ever been imitated so minutely. The conduct of the founder of Christianity has not governed the ordinary life of his followers. Moreover, no founder of a religion has left on so solitary an eminence as the Muslim apostle.
    Author :
    D. G. Hogarth in 'Arabia'

    He was sober and abstemious in his diet and a rigorous observer of fasts. He indulged in no magnificence of apparel, the ostentation of a petty mind; neither was his simplicity in dress affected but a result of real disregard for distinction from so trivial a source.
    Author :
    Washington Irving
    Book Reference :
    'Mahomet and His Successors'

    In his private dealings he was just. He treated friends and strangers, the rich and poor, the powerful and weak, with equity, and was beloved by the common people for the affability with which he received them, and listened to their complaints.In his private dealings he was just. He treated friends and strangers, the rich and poor, the powerful and weak, with equity, and was beloved by the common people for the affability with which he received them, and listened to their complaints.
    Author :
    Washington Irving
    Book Reference :
    'Mahomet and His Successors'

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    Re: Non-Muslims from different backgrounds quotes

    Quotations regarding the history of Islam:

    “The Christian World came to wage crusades against Muslims but eventually knelt before them to gain knowledge. They were spellbound to see that Muslims were owners of a culture that was far superior to their own. The Dark Ages of Europe were illuminated by nothing but the beacon of Muslim Civilization.”
    Author :F.J.C Hearushaw
    Book Reference :The Science of History

    "History makes it clear however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myths that historians have ever repeated."
    Author :
    De Lacy O'Leary
    Book Reference :
    ISLAM AT THE CROSSROADS, London, 1923, p. 8

    “The Renaissance of Europe did not take place in the 15th century. Rather it began when Europe learned from the culture of the Arabs. The cradle of European awakening is not Italy. It is the Muslim Spain.”
    Author :
    Robert Briffault
    Book Reference :
    The Making Of Mankind

    Incidentally these well-established facts dispose of the idea so widely fostered in Christian writings that the Muslims, wherever they went, forced people to accept Islam at the point of the sword.
    Author :
    Lawrence E. Browne
    Book Reference :
    ‘The Prospects of Islam,’ 1944


    Despite the growth of antagonism, Moslem (Muslim) rulers seldom made their Christian subjects suffer for the Crusades. When the Saracens finally resumed the full control of Palestine the Christians were given their former status as dhimmis. The Coptic Church, too had little cause for complaint under Saladin's (Salahuddin) strong government, and during the time of the earlier Mameluke sultans who succeeded him the Copts experienced more enlightened justice than they had hitherto known. The only effect of the Crusaders upon Egyptian Christians was to keep them for a while from pilgrimage to Jerusalem, for as long as the Frank were in charge heretics were forbidden access to the shrines. Not until the Moslem victories could they enjoy their rights as Christians.
    Author :
    James Addison
    Book Reference :
    'The Christian Approach to the Moslem,' p. 35

    The picture of the Muslim soldier advancing with a sword in one hand and the Qur'an in the other is quite false.
    Author :
    A. S. Tritton
    Book Reference :
    in 'Islam,' 1951

    No other religion in history spread so rapidly as Islam. The West has widely believed that this surge of religion was made possible by the sword. But no modern scholar accepts this idea, and the Qur’an is explicit in the support of the freedom of conscience.

    Author :
    James Michener
    Book Reference :
    ‘Islam: The Misunderstood Religion,’ Reader’s Digest, May 1955, pp. 68-70

    My problem to write this monograph is easier, because we are not generally fed now on that (distorted) kind of history and much time need not be spent on pointing out our misrepresentations of Islam. The theory of Islam and sword, for instance, is not heard now in any quarter worth the name. The principle of Islam that “there is no compulsion in religion” is well known.
    Author :
    K. S. Ramakrishna Rao
    Book Reference :
    'Mohammed: The Prophet of Islam,' 1989

    When Pococke inquired of Grotius, where the proof was of that story of the pigeon, trained to pick peas from Mahomet's (Muhammad's) ear, and pass for an angel dictating to him? Grotius answered that there was no proof!..
    Author :
    Thomas Carlyle
    Book Reference :
    ‘Heroes, Hero Worship, and the Heroic in History,’ Lecture 2, Friday, 8th May 1840

    A greater number of God's creatures believe in Mahomet's word at this hour than in any other word whatever. Are we to suppose that it was a miserable piece of spiritual legerdemain, this which so many creatures of the almighty have lived by and died by?...
    Author :
    Thomas Carlyle
    Book Reference :
    ‘Heroes, Hero Worship, and the Heroic in History,’ Lecture 2, Friday, 8th May 1840

    “A rugged, strife-torn and mountaineering people...were suddenly turned into an indomitable Arab force, which achieved a series of splendid victories unparalleled in the history of nations, for in the short space of ninety years that mighty range of Saracenic (i.e. Muslim) conquest embraced a wider extent of territory than Rome had mastered in the course of eight hundred.”
    Author :
    Simon Ockley
    Book Reference :
    in 'History of the Saracens'

    We have never heard about any attempt to compel Non-Muslim parties to adopt Islam or about any organized persecution aiming at exterminating Christianity. If the Caliphs had chosen one of these plans, they would have wiped out Christianity as easily as what happened to Islam during the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella in Spain; by the same method which Louis XIV followed to make Protestantism a creed whose followers were to be sentenced to death; or with the same ease of keeping the Jews away from Britain for a period of three hundred fifty years.
    Author :
    Thomas Arnold
    Book Reference :
    in 'The Call to Islam.'

    This is why the God of vengeance, who alone is all-powerful, and changes the empire of mortals as He will, giving it to whomsoever He will, and uplifting the humble beholding the wickedness of the Romans who throughout their dominions, cruelly plundered our churches and our monasteries and condemned us without pity, brought from the region of the south the sons of Ishmael, to deliver us through them from the hands of the Romans. And if in truth we have suffered some loss, because the Catholic churches, that had been taken away from us and given to the Chalcedonians, remained in their possession; for when the cities submitted to the Arabs, they assigned to each denomination the churches which they found it to be in possession of (and at that time the great churches of Emessa and that of Harran had been taken away from us); nevertheless it was no slight advantage for us to be delivered from the cruelty of the Romans, their wickedness, their wrath and cruel zeal against us, and to find ourselves at people. (Michael the Elder, Jacobite Patriarch of Antioch wrote this text in the latter part of the twelfth century, after five centuries of Muslim rule in that region.)
    Author :
    Michael the Elder (Great)
    Book Reference :
    'Michael the Elder, Chronique de Michael Syrien, Patriarche Jacobite d’ Antioche,' J.B. Chabot, Editor, Vol. II, Paris, 1901

    Despite the growth of antagonism, Moslem (Muslim) rulers seldom made their Christian subjects suffer for the Crusades. When the Saracens finally resumed the full control of Palestine the Christians were given their former status as dhimmis. The Coptic Church, too had little cause for complaint under Saladin's (Salahuddin) strong government, and during the time of the earlier Mameluke sultans who succeeded him the Copts experienced more enlightened justice than they had hitherto known. The only effect of the Crusaders upon Egyptian Christians was to keep them for a while from pilgrimage to Jerusalem, for as long as the Frank were in charge heretics were forbidden access to the shrines. Not until the Moslem victories could they enjoy their rights as Christians.
    Author :
    James Addison
    Book Reference :
    'The Christian Approach to the Moslem,' p. 35

    In the eyes of history, religious toleration is the highest evidence of culture in a people....It was not until the Western nations broke away from their religious law that they became more tolerant, and it was only when the Muslims fell away from their religious law that they declined in tolerance and other evidences of the highest culture. Before the coming of Islam it (tolerance) had never been preached as an essential part of religion...
    Author :
    Marmaduke Pickthall
    Book Reference :
    1927 Lecture on 'Tolerance in Islam,' Madras, India

    If Europe had known as much of Islam, as Muslims knew of Christendom, in those days, those mad, adventurous, occasionally chivalrous and heroic, but utterly fanatical outbreak known as the Crusades could not have taken place, for they were based on a complete misapprehension...
    Author :
    Marmaduke Pickthall
    Book Reference :
    1927 Lecture on 'Tolerance in Islam,' Madras, India

    The tolerance within the body of Islam was, and is, something without parallel in history; class and race and color ceasing altogether to be barriers.

    Author :
    Marmaduke Pickthall
    Book Reference :
    1927 Lecture on 'Tolerance in Islam,' Madras, India

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    Quotations from the most ardent opponents of Islam, affirming the authenticity of the Qur'an:

    'This Text of the Qur'an is the purest of all works of alike antiquity' (Wherry, Commentary on the Koran, I. p. 349).

    'Othman's recension has remained the authorised text from the time it was made until the present day' (Palmer, The Qur'an, p. lix).

    'The text of this recension substantially corresponds to the actual utterances of Muhammad himself' (Arnold, Islamic Faith, p. 9).

    'All sects and parties have the same text of the Qur'an' (Hurgronje, Mohammedanism, p. 18).

    'It is an immense merit in the Kuran that there is no doubt as to its genuineness That very word we can now read with full confidence that it has remained unchanged through nearly thirteen hundred years' (LSK., p.3)

    'The recension of 'Othman has been handed down unaltered. There is probably in the world no other work which has remained twelve centuries with so pure a text' (Muir, Life of Mohammed, pp. XXII-XXIII).

    'In the Kuran we have, beyond all reasonable doubt, the exact words of Mohammed without subtraction and without addition' (Bosworth Smith, Mohammamed and Mohammedanism, p. 22)

    'The Koran was his own creation; and it lies before us practically unchanged from the form which he himself gave it' (Torrey, Jewish Foundations of Islam, p.2).

    'Modern critics agree that that the copies current today are almost exact replicas of the original mother-text as compiled by Zayd, and that, on the whole, the text of the Koran todaay is as Muhammad prodcued it. As some Semitic scholar remarked, there are probably more variations in the reading of one chapter of Genesis in Hebrew than there are in the entire Koran' (Hitti, History of the Arabs, p. 123).

    Non-Muslims from different backgrounds quotes

    The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
    "Surely I was sent to perfect the qualities of righteous character" [Musnad Ahmad, Muwatta Mâlik]


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    Re: Non-Muslims from different backgrounds quotes

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    More quotes on the Qur'an....

    .. the Meccans still demanded of him a miracle, and with remarkable boldness and self confidence Mohammad appealed as a supreme confirmation of his mission to the Koran itself. Like all Arabs they were the connoisseurs of language and rhetoric. Well, then if the Koran were his own composition other men could rival it. Let them produce ten verses like it. If they could not (and it is obvious that they could not), them let them accept the Koran as an outstanding evident miracle.247 (The well-known Arabist Hamilton Gibb of the University of Oxford)

    As a literary monument the Koran thus stands by itself, a production unique to the Arabic literature, having neither forerunners nor successors in its own idiom. Muslims of all ages are united in proclaiming the inimitability not only of its contents but also of its style.248 (Well-known Arabist Hamilton Gibb)

    The influence of the Koran on the development of Arabic Literature has been incalculable, and exerted in many directions. Its ideas, its language, its rhymes pervade all subsequent literary works in greater or less measure. Its specific linguistic features were not emulated, either in the chancery prose of the next century or in the later prose writings, but it was at least partly due to the flexibility imparted by the Koran to the High Arabic idiom that the former could be so rapidly developed and adjusted to the new needs of the imperial government and an expanding society.249 (Well-known Arabist Hamilton Gibb)

    Whenever [Prophet] Muhammad [saas] was asked a miracle, as a proof of the authenticity of his mission, he quoted the composition of the Qur'an and its incomparable excellence as proof of its divine origin. And, in fact, even for those who are non-Muslims nothing is more marvellous than its language with such apprehensible plenitude and a grasping sonority… The ampleness of its syllables with a grandiose cadence and with a remarkable rhythm have been of much moment in the conversion of the most hostile and the most sceptic.250 (From Paul Casanova's article, "L'Enseignement de I'Arabe au College de France" [The Arab Teaching at the College of France])

    It [the Qur'an] is a literal revelation of Allah, dictated to [Prophet] Muhammad [saas] by Gabriel, perfect in every letter. It is an ever-present miracle witnessing to itself and to [Prophet] Muhammad [saas], the Prophet of Allah. Its miraculous quality resides partly in its style, so perfect and lofty that neither men nor Jinn could produce a single chapter to compare with its briefest chapter, and partly in its content of teachings, prophecies about the future, and amazingly accurate information such as [Prophet] Muhammad [saas] could never have gathered of his own accord.251 (From Harry Gaylord Dorman's book, Towards Understanding Islam)

    All those who are acquainted with the Qur'an in Arabic agree in praising the beauty of this religious book; its grandeur of form is so sublime that no translation into any European language can allow us to appreciate it.252 (From Edward Montet's Traduction Francaise du Coran [French Translation of the Qur'an])

    The Qur'an in its original Arabic dress has a seductive beauty and charm of its own Couched in concise and exalted style, its brief pregnant sentences, often rhymed, possess an expressive force and explosive energy which it is extremely difficult to convey by literal word for word translation.253 (From John Naish's book, The Wisdom of the Qur'an)

    The Koran is universally allowed to be written with the utmost elegance and purity of language, in the dialect of Koreish, the most noble and polite of all Arabians… The style of the Qur'an is generally beautiful and fluent,… and in many places, specifically where the majesty and attributes of God are described, sublime and magnificent… He succeeded so well, and so strangely captivated the minds of his audience, that several of his opponents thought it the effect of witchcraft and enchantment.254 (From George Sale's book, The Koran: The Preliminary Discourse)

    A miracle of purity of style of wisdom and of truth.255 (From Rev. R. Bosworth Smith's book, Mohammed and Mohammadanism)

    It [the Qur'an] has a rhythm of peculiar beauty and a cadence that charms the ear. Many Christian Arabs speak of its style with warm admiration, and most Arabists acknowledge its excellence… indeed it may be affirmed that within the literature of the Arabs, wide and fecund as it is both in poetry and in elevated prose, there is nothing to compare with it.256 (From Alfred Guillaume's book, Islam)

    Some Comments on the Divine Nature of the Qur'an and Its Effect on People

    On the whole we find in it a collection of wisdom which can be adopted by the most intelligent of men, the greatest of philosophers and the most skilful of politicians… But there is another proof of the Divinity of the Qur'an; it is the fact that it has been preserved intact through the ages since the time of its Revelation till the present day… Read and reread by the Muslim world, this book does not rouse in the faithful any weariness, it rather, through repetition, is more loved every day. It gives rise to a profound feeling of awe and respect in the one who reads it or listens to it… Therefore, above all, what caused the great and rapid diffusion of Islam was through the fact that this Book… was the book of Allah…257 (From Laura Veccia Vaglieri's book, Apologie de I'Islamisme)

    The Koran abounds in excellent moral suggestions and precepts, its composition is so fragmentary that we cannot turn to a single page without finding maxims of which all men must approve. This fragmentary construction yields texts, and mottoes, and rules complete in themselves, suitable for common men in any of the incidents of life.258 (From John William Draper's book, A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe)

    It must be acknowledged, too, that the Koran deserves the highest praise for its conceptions of the Divine nature in reference to the attributes of Power, knowledge and universal Providence and Unity-that its belief and trust in the one Allah of Heaven and Earth is deep and fervent-and that… it embodies much of the noble and deep moral earnestness, and sententious oracular wisdom, and has proved that there are elements in it on which mighty nations and conquering… Empires can be built up.259 (From the preface of The Koran, translated from the Arabic by Rev. J. M. Rodwell)

    Here, therefore, its merits as a literary production should perhaps not be measured by some preconceived maxims of subjective and aesthetic taste, but by the effects which it produced in [Prophet] Muhammad's [saas] contemporaries and fellow countrymen. If it spoke so powerfully and convincingly to the hearts of his hearers as to weld hitherto centrifugal and antagonistic elements into one compact and well-organized body, animated by ideas far beyond those which had until now ruled the Arabian mind, then its eloquence was perfect, simply because it created a civilized nation out of savage tribes…260 (A statement of Dr. Steingass, quoted in T. P. Hughes' Dictionary of Islam)

    In making the present attempt… to produce something which might be accepted as echoing however faintly the sublime rhetoric of the Arabic Koran, I have been at pains to study the intricate and richly varied rhythms which-apart from the message itself-constitute the Koran's undeniable claim to rank amongst the greatest literary masterpieces of mankind… This very characteristic feature-"that inimitable symphony," as the believing Pickthall described his Holy Book…-has been almost totally ignored by previous translators; it is therefore not surprising that what they have wrought sounds dull and flat indeed in comparison with the splendidly decorated original.261 (From Arthur J. Arberry's book, The Koran Interpreted)

    A totally objective examination of it [the Qur'an] in the light of the modern knowledge, leads us to recognize the agreement between the two, as has been already noted on repeated occasions. It makes us deem it quite unthinkable for a man of [Prophet] Muhammad's [saas] time to have been the author of such statements on account of the state of knowledge in his day. Such considerations are part of what gives the Qur'anic Revelation its unique place, and forces the impartial scientist to admit his inability to provide an explanation which calls solely upon materialistic reasoning.262 (Dr. Maurice Bucaille, former chief of the Surgical Clinic, University of Paris)

    … [T]he Qur'an has invariably kept its place as the fundamental starting point… A creed so precise, … so accessible to the ordinary understanding might be expected to possess and does indeed possess a marvellous power of winning its way into the consciences of men.263 (Edward Montet, a French intellectual)

    ... We have a book absolutely unique in its origin, in its preservation… on the Substantial authority of which no one has ever been able to cast a serious doubt.264 (From Rev. Bosworth Smith's book, Muhammad and Muhammadanism)

    … the Qur'an is explicit in the support of the freedom of conscience.265 (From James Michener's article, "Islam: The Misunderstood Religion")

    Sense of justice is one of the most wonderful ideals of Islam, because as I read in the Qur'an I find those dynamic principles of life, not mystic but practical ethics for the daily conduct of life suited to the whole world.266 (From a lecture on "The Ideals of Islam" quoted in the book Speeches and Writings of Sarojini Naidu)

    We must not be surprised to find the Qur'an the fountainhead of the sciences. Every subject connected with heaven or earth, human life, commerce and various trades are occasionally touched upon, and this gave rise to the production of numerous monographs forming commentaries on parts of the holy book. In this way the Qur'an was responsible for great discussions, and to it was indirectly due to the marvellous development of all branches of science in the Muslim world… This again not only affected the Arabs but also induced Jewish philosophers to treat metaphysical and religious questions after Arab methods. Finally, the way in which Christian scholasticism was fertilised by Arabian theosophy need not be further discussed.

    Spiritual activity once aroused within Islamic bounds was not confined to theological speculations alone. Acquaintance with the philosophical, mathematical, astronomical and medical writings of the Greeks led to the pursuance of these studies. In the descriptive revelations [Prophet] Muhammad [saas] repeatedly calls attention to the movement of the heavenly bodies, as parts of the miracles of Allah forced into the service of man and therefore not to be worshipped. How successfully Moslem people of all races pursued the study of astronomy is shown by the fact that for centuries they were its principal supporters. Even now many Arabic names of stars and technical terms are in use. Medieval astronomers in Europe were pupils of the Arabs.

    In the same manner the Qur'an gave an impetus to medical studies and recommended the contemplation and study of Nature in general.267 (From Prof. Hartwig Hirschfeld's book, New Researches into the Composition and Exegesis of the Qur'an)

    The Koran admittedly occupies an important position among the great religious books of the world. Though the youngest of the epoch-making works belonging to this class of literature, it yields to hardly any in the wonderful effect which it has produced on large masses of men. It has created an all but new phase of human thought and a fresh type of character. It first transformed a number of heterogeneous desert tribes of the Arabian peninsula into a nation of heroes, and then proceeded to create the vast politico-religious organizations of the Muhammadan world which are one of the great forces with which Europe and the East have to reckon today.268 (From G. Margoliouth's introduction to The Koran, translated from the Arabic by Rev. J. M. Rodwell)

    However often we turn to it [the Qur'an]…, it soon attracts, astounds, and in the end enforces our reverence… Its style, in accordance with its contents and aim is stern, grand, terrible-ever and anon truly sublime-Thus this book will go on exercising through all ages a most potent influence.269 (A saying of Goethe quoted in T. P. Hughes' book, Dictionary of Islam)


    SOME SCIENTISTS' COMMENTS REGARDING THE QUR'AN

    … There are too many accuracies [in the Qur'an] and, like Dr. Moore, I have no difficulty in my mind that this is a divine inspiration or revelation which led him to these statements.270 (Dr. T. V. N. Persaud, Professor of Anatomy, Pediatrics and Child Health, Obstetrics, Gynecology, Reproductive Sciences at the University of Manitoba)

    … It follows, I think, that not only there is no conflict between genetics and religion but, in fact, religion can guide science by adding revelation to some of the traditional scientific approaches, that there exist statements in the Quran shown centuries later to be valid, which support knowledge in the Quran having been derived from God.271 (Dr. Joe Leigh Simpson, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Molecular and Human Genetics)

    As a scientist, I can only deal with things which I can specifically see. I can understand embryology and developmental biology. I can understand the words that are translated to me from the Quran. As I gave the example before, if I were to transpose myself into that era, knowing what I knew today and describing things, I could not describe the things which were described… So I see nothing here in conflict with the concept that divine intervention was involved in what he [Prophet Muhammad (saas)] was able to write.272 (Dr. E. Marshall Johnson, Professor Emeritus of Anatomy and Developmental Biology at Thomas Jefferson University)

    In a relatively few aayahs [Quranic verses] is contained a rather comprehensive description of human development from the time of commingling of the gametes through organogenesis. No such distinct and complete record of human development, such as classification, terminology, and description, existed previously. In most, if not all, instances, this description antedates by many centuries the recording of the various stages of human embryonic and fetal development recorded in the traditional scientific literature.273 (Gerald C. Goeringer, Associate Professor of Medical Embryology at Georgetown University)

    It has been a great pleasure for me to help clarify statements in the Qur'an about human development. It is clear to me that these statements must have come to [Prophet] Muhammad [saas] from God, or Allah, because most of this knowledge was not discovered until many centuries later. This proves to me that [Prophet] Muhammad [saas] must have been a messenger of God, or Allah.274 (Dr. Keith L. Moore, Professor Emeritus, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Toronto. Distinguished embryologist and the author of several medical textbooks)

    ... Because the staging of human embryos is complex, owing to the continuous process of change during development, it is proposed that a new system of classification could be developed using the terms mentioned in the Qur'an and Sunnah. The proposed system is simple, comprehensive, and conforms with present embryological knowledge.275 (Dr. Keith L. Moore, Professor Emeritus, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Toronto)

    The intensive studies of the Qur'an and Hadith in the last four years have revealed a system of classifying human embryos that is amazing since it was recorded in the seventh century A.D... the descriptions in the Qur'an cannot be based on scientific knowledge in the seventh century... 276 (Dr. Keith L. Moore, Professor Emeritus, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Toronto)

    I think it is almost impossible that he [Prophet Muhammad (saas)] could have known about things like the common origin of the universe, because scientists have only found out within the last few years with very complicated and advanced technological methods that this is the case… Somebody who did not know something about nuclear physics 1400 years ago could not, I think, be in a position to find out from his own mind for instance that the earth and the heavens had the same origin, or many others of the questions that we have discussed here.277 (Alfred Kroner, Professor of the Department of Geosciences, University of Mainz, Germany. One of the world's most famous geologists)

    If you combine all these and you combine all these statements that are being made in the Qur'an in terms that relate to the earth and the formation of the earth and science in general, you can basically say that statements made there in many ways are true, they can now be confirmed by scientific methods... And that many of the statements made in there at that time could not be proven, but that modern scientific methods are now in a position to prove what [Prophet] Muhammad [saas] said 1400 years ago.278 (Alfred Kroner, Professor of the Department of Geosciences, University of Mainz, Germany)

    I say, I am very much impressed by finding true astronomical facts in Qur'an, and for us modern astronomers have been studying very small piece of the universe. We have concentrated our efforts for understanding of very small part. Because by using telescopes, we can see only very few parts of the sky without thinking about the whole universe. So by reading Qur'an and by answering to the questions, I think I can find my future way for investigation of the universe.279 (Professor Yushidi Kusan, Director of the Tokyo Observatory, Tokyo, Japan)

    Certainly, I would like to leave it at that, that what we have seen is remarkable, it may or may not admit of scientific explanation, there may well have to be something beyond what we understand as ordinary human experience to account for the writings that we have seen.280 (Professor Armstrong, Professor of Astronomy serving with NASA)

    It is difficult to imagine that this type of knowledge was existing at that time, around 1400 years back. May be some of the things they have simple idea about, but to describe those things in great detail is very difficult. So this is definitely not simple human knowledge. A normal human being cannot explain this phenomenon in that much detail. So, I thought the information must have come from a supernatural source.281 (Prof. Dorja Rao, Professor of Marine Geology at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)

    … I believe that everything mentioned in the Qur'an 1400 years ago is true and can be proven by scientific methods… This must be by inspiration from God, or Allah, Who knows all science. Thus, I believe that this is the time to say: "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."282 (Prof. Tejatat Tejasen, Head of the Department of Anatomy and Embryology, University of Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai, Thailand)

    The Qur'an came several centuries ago, confirming what we discovered. This indicates that the Qur'an is the word of God.283 (Prof. Joly Sumson, Professor in Gynecology and Obstetrics)

    It [the Qur'an] discusses the past, the recent period, and the future. I do not know the cultural level of the people in the period of [Prophet] Muhammad [saas] and I do not know their scientific level. If it is as we know about the low scientific level in this ancient period, and the absence of technology, then there is no doubt that what we are reading nowadays in the Qur'an is a light from God. He inspired it in [Prophet] Muhammad [saas]. I had made research into the early history of civilization in the Middle East in order to know if there was such perfect information as this. If there was no other information like the Qur'anic information in that ancient period, this strengthens the faith that God sent [Prophet] Muhammad [Prophet]; He sent to him a little amount from His large science, which we have discovered only in recent time. We are hoping for continuous dialogue in the subject of science with the Qur'an in the field of geology.284 (Prof. Palmar, one of the major scientists in geology in the USA)

    After a discussion about the function of mountains for the fixing of the earth:

    I believe that this [the Qur'an's information] is very very strange, it is nearly impossible, I believe truly that if what you are saying is right, thus, this book [the Qur'an] is very valuable to be noticed, I agree with you.285 (Professor Syawda, a Japanese scientist famous in Japan and internationally in the field of oceanic geology.)



    247. H. A. R. Gibb, Islam-A Historical Survey (Oxford University Press: 1980), 28.
    248. H. A. R. Gibb, Arabic Literature-An Introduction (Oxford at Clarendon Press: 1963), 36.
    249. Ibid., 37.
    250. Paul Casanova, “L’Enseignement de I’Arabe au College de France” (The Arab Teaching at the College of France), Lecon d’overture, 26 April 1909.
    251. Harry Gaylord Dorman, Towards Understanding Islam (New York: 1948), 3.
    252. Edward Montet, Traduction Francaise du Coran (French Translation of the Qur’an), Introduction (Paris: 1929), 53.
    253. John Naish, M. A. (Oxon), D. D., The Wisdom of the Qur’an (Oxford: 1937), preface viii.
    254. George Sale, The Koran: The Preliminary Discourse (London & New York: 1891), 47-48.
    255. Rev. R. Bosworth Smith, Mohammed and Mohammadanism, www.ndirect.co.uk/~n.today/disc160.htm.
    256. Alfred Guillaume, Islam (Penguin Books: 1990 [Reprinted]), 73-74.
    257. Laura Veccia Vaglieri, Apologie de I’Islamisme (Apology for Islamism), 57-59.
    258. John William Draper, A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe I (London: 1875), 343-344.
    259. Rev. J. M. Rodwell, M. A., The Koran (London: 1918), 15.
    260. Dr. Steingass, quoted in T. P. Hughes' Dictionary of Islam, 528.
    261. Arthur J. Arberry, The Koran Interpreted (London: Oxford University Press: 1964), x.
    262. Maurice Bucaille, The Qur’an and Modern Science, 1981, 18.
    263. Edward Montet, Paris, 1890; Quoted by T. W. Arnold in The Preaching of Islam (London: 1913), 413-414.
    264. Reverend Bosworth Smith in Muhammad and Muhammadanism (London: 1874).
    265. James Michener in “Islam: The Misunderstood Religion,” Reader’s Digest, May 1955, 68-70.
    266. Lectures on “The Ideals of Islam,” Speeches and Writings of Sarojini Naidu (Madras: 1918), 167.
    267. Hartwig Hirschfeld, Ph. D., M. R. AS., New Researches into the Composition and Exegesis of the Qur’an (London: 1902), 9.
    268. G. Margoliouth, Introduction to J. M. Rodwell's, The Koran (New York: Everyman's Library: 1977), vii.
    269. Goethe, quoted in T. P. Hughes' Dictionary of Islam, 526.
    270. Video tape entitled This is the Truth, www.islam-guide.com/ch1-1-h.htm.
    271. Ibid.
    272. Ibid.
    273. Ibid.
    274. Video tape entitled This is the Truth, http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Qur...cientists.html.
    275. Ibid.
    276. Ibid.
    277. Ibid.
    278. Ibid.
    279. Ibid.
    280. Ibid.
    281. Ibid.
    282. http://islamweb.net/english/new/week15/(10)%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%
    20%20%20%20THE%20
    LEADERS%20OF%20MODERN%20.htm.
    283. Ibid.
    284. Ibid.
    285. Ibid.

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    Non-Muslims from different backgrounds quotes

    The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
    "Surely I was sent to perfect the qualities of righteous character" [Musnad Ahmad, Muwatta Mâlik]


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    Re: Non-Muslims from different backgrounds quotes

    format_quote Originally Posted by Ansar Al-'Adl

    271. Ibid.
    272. Ibid.
    273. Ibid.
    274. Video tape entitled This is the Truth, http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Qur...cientists.html.
    275. Ibid.
    276. Ibid.
    277. Ibid.
    278. Ibid.
    279. Ibid.
    280. Ibid.
    281. Ibid.
    282. http://islamweb.net/english/new/week...0%20%20%20%20%
    20%20%20%20THE%20
    LEADERS%20OF%20MODERN%20.htm.
    283. Ibid.
    284. Ibid.
    285. Ibid.

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    Re: Non-Muslims from different backgrounds quotes


    Ibid stands for 'Ibidem' which is the latin word to say "in the same place". It's used when we provide references for quotes, and we want to let the reader know that the next quote is in the same source as the previous one.

    Non-Muslims from different backgrounds quotes

    The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
    "Surely I was sent to perfect the qualities of righteous character" [Musnad Ahmad, Muwatta Mâlik]


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    Re: Non-Muslims from different backgrounds quotes

    format_quote Originally Posted by Ansar Al-'Adl

    Ibid stands for 'Ibidem' which is the latin word to say "in the same place". It's used when we provide references for quotes, and we want to let the reader know that the next quote is in the same source as the previous one.



    ah! I see jazakallahu Kahyr
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    Abubakar's Avatar Full Member
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    Re: Non-Muslims from different backgrounds quotes



    What beautiful posts.

    Thank you Brothers.

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    Re: Non-Muslims from different backgrounds quotes

    format_quote Originally Posted by kadafi


    I will here list all the quotes provided by Non-Muslims from various backgrounds and what they have to say about Islam and/or Muslims. These quotes are for Muslims and Non-Muslims alike. Insha'Allah, it will reveal that Islaam is not despised by the non-muslim academic scholars at all.

    Some you might have read and some are completely new. Bear in mind that only quotes that are rare will be added.
    "All the quotes" or only "rare quotes"?!

    You've quoted Edward Gibbon - the greatest English speaking historian of all time, in my view - several times. He was highly respectful of the Islamic tradition (as I am), but was also an atheist (as I am). In the Western world, no person of his time knew more about the history of early religions, particularly Christianity, which he loathed, and upon which he placed the largest blame for "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire".
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    Re: Non-Muslims from different backgrounds quotes

    format_quote Originally Posted by czgibson
    "All the quotes" or only "rare quotes"?!

    You've quoted Edward Gibbon - the greatest English speaking historian of all time, in my view - several times. He was highly respectful of the Islamic tradition (as I am), but was also an atheist (as I am). In the Western world, no person of his time knew more about the history of early religions, particularly Christianity, which he loathed, and upon which he placed the largest blame for "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire".
    Greetings!

    Hehe, you have spotted the error. Thank you

    Indeed, Edward Gibbon was the greatest contempary historian - of all time is an exaggeration - but they that is my view!

    You are also correct that he highly admired Islaam and detested Christianity.

    Regards
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    Re: Non-Muslims from different backgrounds quotes

    Yepp. I agree ... Great Posts THANKS !
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    Re: Non-Muslims from different backgrounds quotes

    salam
    mashallah great thread
    wasalam
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    Re: Non-Muslims from different backgrounds quotes

    [QUOTE=biblico_studico;120125]Perhaps the problem lies about generality concept about a certain idea by a person holding it. Not all Christian despised Non-Christian (like Muslim, Buddhists..etc). A Christian must not harbor ill-feelings to anybody. He/She must not say anything bad for the purpose of condemning a certian person. There is no such good and bad Christian, either you are one or you are not.Either you are Christian or anti-Christian. In the same manner there is no such good or bad Muslim. If you believe that there is only One True God then start at that point to be together as brothers/sisters. Let no one be the reason for other to stumble about real spirituality as required by GOD to be qualified to receive His promised Gift.
    Hope, I did not offend anybody. I am ready to hear any reaction on what I said here now and willing to change view for should it be in line with what conviction I have of God.
    Thanks.
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    Re: Non-Muslims from different backgrounds quotes

    What They Say About Muhammad (salla ‘llahu alaihi wa sallam)

    It is impossible for anyone who studies the life and character of the great Prophet of Arabia, who knows how he taught and how he lived, to feel anything but reverence for that mighty Prophet, one of the great messengers of the Supreme. And although in what I put to you I shall say many things which may be familiar to many, yet I myself feel whenever I re-read them, a new way of admiration, a new sense of reverence for that mighty Arabian teacher.
    - Annie Besant, The Life and Teachings of Muhammad. Madras 1932, p. 4


    Muhammad was the soul of kindness, and his influence was felt and never forgotten by those around him.
    - Diwan Chand Sharma, The Prophets of the East, Calcutta, 1935, p. 12

    If greatness of purpose, smallness of means, and astounding results are the three criteria of human genius, who could dare to compare any great man in modem history with Muhammad? The most famous men created arms, laws and empires only They founded, if anything at all, no more than material powers which often crumbled away before their eyes This man moved not only armies, legislation, empires, peoples and dynasties, but millions of men in one-third of the then-inhabited world; and more than that he moved the altars, the gods, the religions, the ideas, the beliefs and souls.... His forbearance in victory, his ambition which was entirely devoted to one idea and in no manner striving for an empire, his endless prayers, his mystic conversations with God, his death and his triumph after death – all these attest not to an imposture but to a firm conviction which gave him the power to restore a dogma. This dogma was twofold: the unity of God and the immateriality of God; the former telling what God is, the latter telling what God is not; the one overthrowing false gods with the sword, the other starting an idea with the words.
    Philosopher, orator, apostle, legislator, warrior, conqueror of ideas, restorer of rational dogmas, of a cult without images; the founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire, that is Muhammad. As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than he?
    - Lamartine, Histoire de la Turquie, Pans 1854, Vol. 11, pp. 276-77.

    My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world’s most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular level.
    - Michael H. Hart The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History, New York: Hart Publishing Company Inc. 1978, p 33.

    Four years after the death of Justinian, 569 C.E. was born at Mecca, in Arabia, the man who, of all men, has exercised the greatest influence upon the human race.
    - John William Draper, A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, London 1875, vol. 1, pp. 329-330

    He was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pope without Pope's pretensions, Caesar without the legions of Caesar: without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a palace, without a fixed revenue. If ever any man had the right to say that he ruled by the right divine, it was Mohammad, for he had all the power without its instruments and without its supports.
    - Rev. Bosworth Smith, Mohammad and Mohammadanism, London 1874, p 92.

    I have studied him, the wonderful man, and in my opinion far from being an anti-Christ, he must be called the Saviour of Humanity. I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it the much needed peace and happiness. I have prophesied about the faith of Muhammad that it would be acceptable to the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to the Europe of today.
    - G. B. Shaw The Genuine Islam, Vol. 1, No. 81936.

    Our authorities, says Muir, all agree in ascribing to the youth of Mohammad a modesty of deportment and purity of manners rare among the People of Mecca… Endowed with a refined mind and delicate taste, reserved and meditative, he lived much within himself, and the ponderings of his heart no doubt supplied occupation for leisure hours spent by others of a lower stamp in rude sports and profligacy. The fair character and honorable bearing of the unobtrusive youth won the approbation of his fellow-citizens; and he received the title, by common consent, of Al-Ameen, the Trustworthy.
    - Sir William Muir, Life of Mohammad, London 1903

    He was the most faithful protector of those he protected, the sweetest and most agreeable in conversation. Those who saw him were suddenly filled with reverence; those who came near him loved him; they who described him would say, "I have never seen his like either before or after." He was of great taciturnity, but when he spoke it was with emphasis and deliberation, and no one could forget what he said...
    The day of Mohammad’s greatest triumph over his enemies was also the day of his grandest victory over himself. He freely forgave the Koraysh all the years of sorrow and cruel scorn in which they had afflicted him and gave an amnesty to the whole population of Mekka. Four criminals whom justice condemned made up Mohammad’s proscription list when he entered as a conqueror to the city of his bitterest enemies. The army followed his example, and entered quietly and peacefully: no house was robbed, no women insulted. One thing alone suffered destruction. Going to the Kaaba, Mohammad stood before each of the three hundred and sixty idols, and pointed to it with his staff, saying, ‘Truth is come and falsehood is fled away!’, and at these words his attendants hewed them down, and all the idols and household gods of Mekka and round about were destroyed. It was thus Mohammad entered again his native city. Through all the annals of conquest there is no triumphant entry comparable to this one.
    - Stanley Lane-Poole, The Speeches and Table-Talk of the Prophet Mohammad, London 1882, Introduction, pp. 46, 47

    In comparison, for example, with the cruelty of the Crusaders, who, in 1099, put seventy thousand Muslims, men, women and helpless children to death when Jerusalem fell into their hands: or with that of the English army, also fighting under the Cross, which in the year of grace 1874 burned an African capital, in its war on the Gold Coast. Muhammad’s victory was in very truth one of religion and not of politics; he rejected every token of personal homage, and declined all regal authority: and when the haughty chiefs of the Korei****es appeared before him he asked:



    “What can you expect at my hands?”



    “Mercy O generous brother!”



    “Be it so; you are free!” He exclaimed.

    A year before his death, at the end of the tenth year of the Hegira, Muhammad made his last pilgrimage from Medina to Mecca. He made then a great sermon to his people… The reader will note that the first paragraph sweeps away all plunder and blood feuds among the followers of Islam. The last makes the believing Negro the equal of the Caliph… they established in the world a great tradition of dignified fair dealing, they breathe a spirit of generosity, and they are human and workable. They created a society more free from widespread cruelty and social oppression than any society had ever been in the world before.
    - H.G. Wells, The Outline of History, London 1920, p. 325

    His (i.e., Muhammad’s) memory was capacious and retentive, his wit easy and social, his imagination sublime, his judgment clear, rapid and decisive. He possessed the courage of both thought and action; and… the first idea which he entertained of his divine mission bears the stamp of an original and superior genius.
    - Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, London 1838, vol. 5, p. 335

    His readiness to undergo persecution for his beliefs, the high moral character of the men who believed in him and looked up to him as leader, and the greatness of his ultimate achievement all argue his fundamental integrity. To suppose Muhammad an impostor raises more problems than it solves. Moreover, none of the great figures of history is so poorly appreciated in the West as Muhammad.
    - W Montgomery Watt Mohammad At Mecca, Oxford, 1953, p 52.

    The essential sincerity of Muhammad’s nature cannot be questioned: and an historical criticism that blinks no fact, yields nothing to credulity, weighs every testimony, has no partisan interest, and seeks only the truth, must acknowledge his claim to belong to that order of prophets who, whatever the nature of their physical experience may have been, in diverse times, in diverse manners, have admonished, taught and uttered austere and sublime thoughts, laid down principles of conduct nobler than those they found, and devoted themselves fearlessly to their high calling, being irresistibly impelled to their ministry by a power within.
    - Prof. Nathaniel Schmidt, The New International Encyclopedia, 1916, vol. 16, p. 72

    The ignorance displayed by most Christians regarding the Muslim religion is appalling… Mohammad alone, among the nations at that time, believed in one God to the exclusion of all others. He insisted on righteousness as the source of conduct, of filial duty, and on frequent prayers to, the Ever-living God, and of respect to all other peoples, and of justice and mercy to and moderation in all things, and to hold in great respect learning of every kind… Most of the absurdities which Christians would have us believe to exist in the Quran were never uttered by Mohammad himself, nor are they to be found in a correct translation of the work.
    - G. Lindsay Johnson, The Two Worlds, Manchester, 9th August 1940

    Like almost every major prophet before him, Muhammad fought shy of serving as the transmitter of God's word, sensing his own inadequacy. But the angel commanded ‘Read’. So far as we know, Muhammad was unable to read or write, but he began to dictate those inspired words which would soon revolutionize a large segment of the earth: “There is one God.”
    In all things Muhammad was profoundly practical. When his beloved son Ibrahim died, an eclipse occurred, and rumors of God’s personal condolence quickly arose. Whereupon Muhammad is said to have announced, ‘An eclipse is a phenomenon of nature. It is foolish to attribute such things to the death or birth of a human being.’ At Muhammad’s own death an attempt was made to deify him, but the man who was to become his administrative successor killed the hysteria with one of the noblest speeches in religious history: ‘If there are any among you who worshipped Muhammad, he is dead. But if it is God you worshipped, He lives for ever’.
    - James A. Michener, Islam: The Misunderstood Religion, Reader’s Digest (American ea.) May 1955, p. 70

    That his (Muhammad’s) reforms enhanced the status of women in general is universally admitted.
    - H.A.R. Gibb, Mohammedanism, London 1953, p. 33
    Non-Muslims from different backgrounds quotes

    “Whoever puts his trust in Allah, sufficient is Allah for him.”
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    SunniMuslimah's Avatar Full Member
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    Re: Non-Muslims from different backgrounds quotes

    This is amazing, keep up the good work brothers
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    Lightbulb Quotations From Famous Historians Of Science

    QUOTATIONS FROM FAMOUS HISTORIANS OF SCIENCE
    http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/Introl1.html

    Western writers have often used the word Arabs or Muhammadans for Muslims and Arabic civilization for Islamic Civilization. In other instances, the words Saracen(ic) and Moor(ish) are also used for Muslims (Arabs and non-Arabs) from various parts of Europe, Africa, Arabia and Asia. According to a tradition of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) anyone whose primary language is Arabic is an Arab despite his ethnic origin, place of birth, or national origin. Arabic was the medium of communication throughout the Muslim world until a couple of centuries ago, regardless of the type of activity whether religious, social or scientific. During 800-1500 C.E. essentially all scientific works were written in Arabic. It is only after colonization of Muslim lands that this practice became less prevalent and in many instances was eliminated.


    George Sarton's Tribute to Muslim Scientists in the "Introduction to the History of Science," I

    "It will suffice here to evoke a few glorious names without contemporary equivalents in the West: Jabir ibn Haiyan, al-Kindi, al-Khwarizmi, al-Fargani, al-Razi, Thabit ibn Qurra, al-Battani, Hunain ibn Ishaq, al-Farabi, Ibrahim ibn Sinan, al-Masudi, al-Tabari, Abul Wafa, 'Ali ibn Abbas, Abul Qasim, Ibn al-Jazzar, al-Biruni, Ibn Sina, Ibn Yunus, al-Kashi, Ibn al-Haitham, 'Ali Ibn 'Isa al-Ghazali, al-zarqab, Omar Khayyam. A magnificent array of names which it would not be difficult to extend. If anyone tells you that the Middle Ages were scientifically sterile, just quote these men to him, all of whom flourished within a short period, 750 to 1100 A.D."


    John William Draper in the "Intellectual Development of Europe"

    "I have to deplore the systematic manner in which the literature of Europe has continued to put out of sight our obligations to the Muhammadans. Surely they cannot be much longer hidden. Injustice founded on religious rancour and national conceit cannot be perpetuated forever. The Arab has left his intellectual impress on Europe. He has indelibly written it on the heavens as any one may see who reads the names of the stars on a common celestial globe."
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    SunniMuslimah's Avatar Full Member
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    Thumbs up Quotations From Famous Historians Of Science

    Robert Briffault in the "Making of Humanity"

    "It was under the influence of the arabs and Moorish revival of culture and not in the 15th century, that a real renaissance took place. Spain, not Italy, was the cradle of the rebirth of Europe. After steadily sinking lower and lower into barbarism, it had reached the darkest depths of ignorance and degradation when cities of the Saracenic world, Baghdad, Cairo, Cordova, and Toledo, were growing centers of civilization and intellectual activity. It was there that the new life arose which was to grow into new phase of human evolution. From the time when the influence of their culture made itself felt, began the stirring of new life.

    "It was under their successors at Oxford School (that is, successors to the Muslims of Spain) that Roger Bacon learned Arabic and Arabic Sciences. Neither Roger Bacon nor later namesake has any title to be credited with having introduced the experimental method. Roger Bacon was no more than one of apostles of Muslim Science and Method to Christian Europe; and he never wearied of declaring that knowledge of Arabic and Arabic Sciences was for his contemporaries the only way to true knowledge. Discussion as to who was the originator of the experimental method....are part of the colossal misinterpretation of the origins of European civilization. The experimental method of Arabs was by Bacon's time widespread and eagerly cultivated throughout Europe.

    "Science is the most momentous contribution of Arab civilization to the modern world; but its fruits were slow in ripening. Not until long after Moorish culture had sunk back into darkness did the giant, which it had given birth to, rise in his might. It was not science only which brought Europe back to life. Other and manifold influence from the civilization of Islam communicated its first glow to European Life.

    "For Although there is not a single aspect of European growth in which the decisive influence of Islamic Culture is not traceable, nowhere is it so clear and momentous as in the genesis of that power which constitutes the permanent distinctive force of the modern world, and the supreme source of its victory, natural science and the scientific spirit.

    "The debt of our science to that of the Arabs does not consist in startling discoveries or revolutionary theories, science owes a great deal more to Arab culture, it owes its existence. The Astronomy and Mathematics of the Greeks were a foreign importation never thoroughly acclimatized in Greek culture. The Greeks systematized, generalized and theorized, but the patient ways of investigation, the accumulation of positive knowledge, the minute method of science, detailed and prolonged observation and experimental inquiry were altogether alien to the Greek temperament. Only in Hellenistic Alexandria was any approach to scientific work conducted in the ancient classical world. What we call science arose in Europe as a result of new spirit of enquiry, of new methods of experiment, observation, measurement, of the development of mathematics, in a form unknown to the Greeks. That spirit and those methods were introduced into the European world by the Arabs.

    "It is highly probable that but for the Arabs, modern European civilization would never have arisen at all; it is absolutely certain that but for them, it would not have assumed that character which has enabled it to transcend all previous phases of evolution."
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    Quotations From Famous Historians Of Science

    George Sarton in the "Introduction to the History of Science"

    "During the reign of Caliph Al-Mamun (813-33 A.D.), the new learning reached its climax. The monarch created in Baghdad a regular school for translation. It was equipped with a library, one of the translators there was Hunayn Ibn Ishaq (809-77) a particularly gifted philosopher and physician of wide erudition, the dominating figure of this century of translators. We know from his own recently published Memoir that he translated practically the whole immense corpus of Galenic writings."
    "Besides the translation of Greek works and their extracts, the translators made manuals of which one form, that of the 'pandects,' is typical of the period of Arabic learning. These are recapitulations of the whole medicine, discussing the affections of the body, systematically beginning at the head and working down to the feet."

    "The Muslim ideal was, it goes without saying, not visual beauty but God in His plentitude; that is God with all his manifestations, the stars and the heavens, the earth and all nature. The Muslim ideal is thus infinite. But in dealing with the infinite as conceived by the Muslims, we cannot limit ourselves to the space alone, but must equally consider time.

    "The first mathematical step from the Greek conception of a static universe to the Islamic one of a dynamic universe was made by Al-Khwarizmi (780-850), the founder of modern Algebra. He enhanced the purely arithmetical character of numbers as finite magnitudes by demonstrating their possibilities as elements of infinite manipulations and investigations of properties and relations.

    "In Greek mathematics, the numbers could expand only by the laborious process of addition and multiplication. Khwarizmi's algebraic symbols for numbers contain within themselves the potentialities of the infinite. So we might say that the advance from arithmetic to algebra implies a step from being to 'becoming' from the Greek universe to the living universe of Islam. The importance of Khwarizmi's algebra was recognized, in the twelfth century, by the West, - when Girard of Cremona translated his theses into Latin. Until the sixteenth century this version was used in European universities as the principal mathematical text book. But Khwarizmi's influence reached far beyond the universities. We find it reflected in the mathematical works of Leonardo Fibinacci of Pissa, Master Jacob of Florence, and even of Leonardo da Vinci."

    "Through their medical investigations they not merely widened the horizons of medicine, but enlarged humanistic concepts generally. And once again they brought this about because of their over riding spiritual convictions. Thus it can hardly have been accidental that those researches should have led them that were inevitably beyond the reach of Greek masters. If it is regarded as symbolic that the most spectacular achievement of the mid-twentieth century is atomic fission and the nuclear bomb, likewise it would not seem fortuitous that the early Muslim's medical endeavor should have led to a discovery that was quite as revolutionary though possibly more beneficent."

    "A philosophy of self-centredness, under whatever disguise, would be both incomprehensible and reprehensible to the Muslim mind. That mind was incapable of viewing man, whether in health or sickness as isolated from God, from fellow men, and from the world around him. It was probably inevitable that the Muslims should have discovered that disease need not be born within the patient himself but may reach from outside, in other words, that they should have been the first to establish clearly the existence of contagion."

    "One of the most famous exponents of Muslim universalism and an eminent figure in Islamic learning was Ibn Sina, known in the West as Avicenna (981-1037). For a thousand years he has retained his original renown as one of the greatest thinkers and medical scholars in history. His most important medical works are the Qanun (Canon) and a treatise on Cardiac drugs. The 'Qanun fi-l-Tibb' is an immense encyclopedia of medicine. It contains some of the most illuminating thoughts pertaining to distinction of mediastinitis from pleurisy; contagious nature of phthisis; distribution of diseases by water and soil; careful description of skin troubles; of sexual diseases and perversions; of nervous ailments."

    "We have reason to believe that when, during the crusades, Europe at last began to establish hospitals, they were inspired by the Arabs of near East....The first hospital in Paris, Les Quinze-vingt, was founded by Louis IX after his return from the crusade 1254-1260."

    "We find in his (Jabir, Geber) writings remarkably sound views on methods of chemical research, a theory on the geologic formation of metals (the six metals differ essentially because of different proportions of sulphur and mercury in them); preparation of various substances (e.g., basic lead carbonatic, arsenic and antimony from their sulphides)."

    Ibn Haytham's writings reveal his fine development of the experimental faculty. His tables of corresponding angles of incidence and refraction of light passing from one medium to another show how closely he had approached discovering the law of constancy of ratio of sines, later attributed to snell. He accounted correctly for twilight as due to atmospheric refraction, estimating the sun's depression to be 19 degrees below the horizon, at the commencement of the phenomenon in the mornings or at its termination in the evenings."

    "A great deal of geographical as well as historical and scientific knowledge is contained in the thirty volume meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems by one of the leading Muslim Historians, the tenth century al Mas'udi. A more strictly geographical work is the dictionary 'Mujam al-Buldan' by al-Hamami (1179-1229). This is a veritable encyclopedia that, in going far beyond the confines of geography, incorporates also a great deal of scientific lore."

    "They studied, collected and described plants that might have some utilitarian purpose, whether in agriculture or in medicine. These excellent tendencies, without equivalent in Christendom, were continued during the first half of the thirteenth century by an admirable group of four botanists. One of these Ibn al-Baitar compiled the most elaborate Arabic work on the subject (Botany), in fact the most important for the whole period extending from Dioscorides down to the sixteenth century. It was a true encyclopedia on the subject, incorporating the whole Greek and Arabic experience."

    "'Abd al-Malik ibn Quraib al-Asmai (739-831) was a pious Arab who wrote some valuable books on human anatomy. Al-Jawaliqi who flourished in the first half of the twelfth century and 'Abd al-Mumin who flourished in the second half of the thirteenth century in Egypt, wrote treatises on horses. The greatest zoologist amongst the Arabs was al-Damiri (1405) of Egypt whose book on animal life, 'Hayat al-Hayawan' has been translated into English by A.S.G. Jayakar (London 1906, 1908)."

    "The weight of venerable authority, for example that of Ptolemy, seldom intimidated them. They were always eager to put a theory to tests, and they never tired of experimentation. Though motivated and permeated by the spirit of their religion, they would not allow dogma as interpreted by the orthodox to stand in the way of their scientific research."
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